BOMBAY, 18 July 2006 — Twelve Muslim youths, alleged to have links with Lashkar-e-Taiba, have been arrested by the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the Bombay police in Beed district in Marathwada region. The operation was carried out jointly with local police yesterday morning. The 12 have been brought to Bombay for interrogation.
While the names of 10 of the alleged militants were not disclosed, two youths Anwar and Nasser were taken from the Muslim locality of Mominpura in the city limits and are alleged to have associations with terrorists.
Two alleged terrorists Asim Ali and Waled Hussain, who were arrested in Nepal, were brought to Bombay yesterday morning from Nepal and are being interrogated by the Anti Terrorist Squad team to find out if they had any role in the train bomb blasts of Tuesday.
The fallout of the blasts took a political turn, with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray, the estranged nephew of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, firing a salvo into the simmering political currents in Bombay. “If the terrorists who set off the blasts on trains are found, then we will see which lawyers represent them in the courts.”
Speaking at a function in the Dadar suburb while paying homage to those killed in the blasts, Raj strongly criticized Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi and lawyer Majeed Memon. The MNS leader said “Ram Jethmalani deserves no pardon as he had represented the Sikh terrorists who had killed former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and so is the case with Majeed Memon, who had represented the accused in the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Bombay.”
“We will now see which lawyer dares to represent the accused of Tuesday’s train bomb blasts, and we would request the judges of the courts not to accept the papers of lawyers who want to represent the accused of the blasts” Raj added.
Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi had earlier stirred the political pot by calling on the police to stop targeting Muslims and that innocent Muslims should not be harassed.
Not to be left behind Uddhav Thackeray, working president of the Shiv Sena, urged the Hindus to teach a lesson to Azmi. Referring to the warning of Azmi that 200 million Muslims would take to the streets if police harass the Muslims and Narendra Modi is allowed to address a public rally in Bombay, Uddhav warned Azmi that he nor the Muslims should expect the 800 odd million Hindus to be quiet and they would counter Azmi’s threat with full force.
